EA announces it will waive its distribution fees on Origin for crowd-funded, "ready-to-publish" downloadable PC games for 90 days after launch. They offer quotes from prominent Kickstarter projects praising the move. "Crowd-funded projects are like the 'people's choice awards' -- a way for gaming fans to express what they want to buy and play. It's great to see a big publisher like EA acknowledging that and opening up distribution opportunities for these games," says Jane Jensen, President, Pinkerton Road. "I have had a long relationship with EA and it is great to see them recognize and support the crowd-funded games model," said Brian Fargo, CEO, inXile Entertainment. "Having Origin waive their distribution fees for 90 days for fan funded games is a major economic bonus for small developers. We look forward to bringing Wasteland 2 to the Origin audience."

Origin is a non-functional piece of cat-piss which EA forces on people who don't want it. Origin requires you to satisfy the EA machine to play your single player game. By supporting and utilising Origin, you are supporting their anti-consumer behaviour. The only way this piece of shit will go away is if it's not supported.

Once again, Wasteland 2 will not require Origin. You can buy it on any digital distribution platform. If you don't like Origin, just don't buy the game there. Voila, simple. If you honestly think that publishers and developers are going to boycott a potential source of revenue (especially one that offers them 100% profit), you're terribly naive. Again, if you don't like Origin, don't buy Wasteland 2 from it. If nobody buys games on Origin, publishers and developers will stop supporting it. Simple stuff, really.

Your rage would be justified if Wasteland 2 were an Origin-exclusive but it's not so simmer down now mmkay?

I don't have a problem with Origin per se, I just object to the business practices of EA. It's the reason I haven't bought Battlefield 3 or Mass Effect 3, even though both look like decent games - it's not because of Origin but because of their boycott of Steam. Yet I was happy to buy Diablo III and Starcraft II because they're not available on ANY digital distributor apart from Battle.net, Blizzard's own service - they didn't discriminate against Steam, they just chose to use their own service.

In terms of KS projects, I honestly have no problem with any project selling or distributing their game through Origin as long as it isn't exclusive. It's the same with Steam - even though a lot of KS actively promote the Steam connection they also offer it through other DD services or DRM free entirely. Although I consider Steam to offer added value there are many people that feel the exact opposite.

I can live with Steam. Primarily because there's an offline mode, your fucking DLC doesn't disappear if you're offline and there's no record of Valve denying someone access to their games because they didn't like something they posted in their forums.

You could not summarize my mind set any better. Steam isn't perfect, but it's the best thing out there right now. They seem to welcome indie releases, and their sales benefit both the gamer and the developer, based on the huge numbers they sell.

edit: Speaking of which, when is Retro City Rampage coming out?! Looks like it got delayed again...

Slashman wrote on May 19, 2012, 09:50:I don't like Origin mostly for the fact that somehow I'm never included in any of their sales because apparently I'm in the 'UK' or some shit like that. Whereas when Steam has a sale its a sale across the board, not based on territory. I don't live in the Us or Canada and that shouldn't be a factor in if I get a good deal from your service or not.

Origin is still light-years away from Steam and I don't see it changing anytime soon. I have no interest in becoming a customer of theirs at this time.

They're weird about the global thing. You're right, but at the same time, I live in Germany and Origin actually has an age verification system in place that would let me buy uncensored versions of games where that's an issue, which Steam in all of its years hasn't bothered to implement. I do have to praise them for that.

Still wouldn't have bought anything from them if it wasn't for BF3, though.

I don't like Origin mostly for the fact that somehow I'm never included in any of their sales because apparently I'm in the 'UK' or some shit like that. Whereas when Steam has a sale its a sale across the board, not based on territory. I don't live in the Us or Canada and that shouldn't be a factor in if I get a good deal from your service or not.

Origin is still light-years away from Steam and I don't see it changing anytime soon. I have no interest in becoming a customer of theirs at this time.

Steam is barely acceptable, but there should probably be a timeout period after which the game should be offered without DRM.

Haha, weak-willed compromiser.

At this level of vitriolic extremism, just crank it up a notch and take the crusade to Steam DRM (which is basically the same as Origin DRM), and also against Gamestop, which is also evil (what with Impulse DRM), and in two easy steps moralize yourself right out of the games hobby, leaving nothing but Dwarf Fortress and Minecraft. Which are tainted by running on Windows, made by Microsoft, which is foisting GFWL on us.

There's just no way to have any confidence in the industry until every single company involved is boycotted into the fucking ground.

I can live with Steam. Primarily because there's an offline mode, your fucking DLC doesn't disappear if you're offline and there's no record of Valve denying someone access to their games because they didn't like something they posted in their forums.

EA, Ubisoft and ActiBlizzardFuckTards are all moving towards an always-on experience. Within 2 years, I expect one of these motherfuckers to try and force gamers to rent a AAA title or pay per use, instead of purchasing it outright. And if people are stupid enough to support them on the way, it'll happen that much quicker.

At least with Valve, they're a known and somewhat consistent quantity. The shit mostly works and is limited to a delivery and authentication mechanism. And frankly, their corporate manual suggests a far more gamer-friendly company than the soul-sucking leeches which infest EA.

WarpCrow wrote on May 19, 2012, 07:54:I haven't had any problem with it. It's not as polished or functional as Steam is, but on a fundamental level it's no different. If you expect every developer to be an activist who agrees with you point by point or they're 'betraying' you, you're part of a demographic that's not even worth winning over. You want the developer to be as beholden to you personally as they currently are to the major publishers. At least they have money.

Christ. Your personal lack of problems with Origin is irrelevant. It's poorly designed and implemented and screws the customer experience.

Don't set up a straw man and expect me to respond to your bullshit. I'm saying that developers who ask gamers for money up-front, shouldn't be then trying to get in bed with EA and support their crap. Everyone knows that Origin is only used by those people who have to. IE: Anyone playing Battlefield 3, Mass Effect 3 or the Need for Speed tragedies. Nobody else installs that shit voluntarily, it's got zero advantage in the marketplace and considerable disadvantage.

No developer needs to set up on Origin to get sales. People will buy from Steam because Steam has market share and consumer confidence. Releasing your game on Origin is just trying to suck on the EA teat despite the fact that doing so fucks over your target market.

Given that Kickstarter projects are built upon faith and trust, you don't even think it's slightly relevant that developers should be doing what they can to build that trust - instead of jumping into bed with EA at the first opportunity?

Sooner or later, gamers will realise they're giving Kickstarter developers free money so the principles in the studio can sell the IP to EA and make a bunch of swag. When that happens, I imagine a few analyses will demonstrate just how foolish funding Kickstarter projects really is.

Steam is barely acceptable, but there should probably be a timeout period after which the game should be offered without DRM.

Haha, weak-willed compromiser.

At this level of vitriolic extremism, just crank it up a notch and take the crusade to Steam DRM (which is basically the same as Origin DRM), and also against Gamestop, which is also evil (what with Impulse DRM), and in two easy steps moralize yourself right out of the games hobby, leaving nothing but Dwarf Fortress and Minecraft. Which are tainted by running on Windows, made by Microsoft, which is foisting GFWL on us.

There's just no way to have any confidence in the industry until every single company involved is boycotted into the fucking ground.

Jerykk wrote on May 19, 2012, 07:24:Good lord, the knee jerk reactions are painful. Please do some research or at least read the rest of the thread before posting. Wasteland 2 is not going to require Origin. It will simply be sold on Origin, along with Steam, GOG, GamersGate and every other digital distributor.

Good Lord, the stupidity on display here is appalling.

Origin is a non-functional piece of cat-piss which EA forces on people who don't want it. Origin requires you to satisfy the EA machine to play your single player game. By supporting and utilising Origin, you are supporting their anti-consumer behaviour. The only way this piece of shit will go away is if it's not supported.

Fuck Origin and fuck anyone who supports it. If you're a developer who received crowd-sourced funding from gamers and you support Origin, then you're betraying the demographic which funded your fucking game in the first place - and are therefore a piece of shit.

This isn't rocket surgery dude. It just requires you to - oh, I don't know - THINK.

I disagree. Origin is a lot like Steam, just not as robust. I have both of them on my PC (BF3 requires Origin), and the majority of my games are on Steam, but not all. Many people hate Steam just as much as Origin, and in inXile's own words, they support player choice. That means making the game available in as many places as possible, which I wholeheartedly support. Exclusivity for any platform is what is truly anti-user.

That being said I personally hate EA, and the only Origin game I ever plan to own is Battlefield since I've owned the series starting with the original 1942. Despite this, I think it's a good thing that indies get a good deal on Origin, both for their own profits, and for the aforementioned reason of player choice.

Jerykk wrote on May 19, 2012, 07:24:Good lord, the knee jerk reactions are painful. Please do some research or at least read the rest of the thread before posting. Wasteland 2 is not going to require Origin. It will simply be sold on Origin, along with Steam, GOG, GamersGate and every other digital distributor.

Good Lord, the stupidity on display here is appalling.

Origin is a non-functional piece of cat-piss which EA forces on people who don't want it. Origin requires you to satisfy the EA machine to play your single player game. By supporting and utilising Origin, you are supporting their anti-consumer behaviour. The only way this piece of shit will go away is if it's not supported.

Fuck Origin and fuck anyone who supports it. If you're a developer who received crowd-sourced funding from gamers and you support Origin, then you're betraying the demographic which funded your fucking game in the first place - and are therefore a piece of shit.

This isn't rocket surgery dude. It just requires you to - oh, I don't know - THINK.

I haven't had any problem with it. It's not as polished or functional as Steam is, but on a fundamental level it's no different. If you expect every developer to be an activist who agrees with you point by point or they're 'betraying' you, you're part of a demographic that's not even worth winning over. You want the developer to be as beholden to you personally as they currently are to the major publishers. At least they have money.

Jerykk wrote on May 19, 2012, 07:24:Good lord, the knee jerk reactions are painful. Please do some research or at least read the rest of the thread before posting. Wasteland 2 is not going to require Origin. It will simply be sold on Origin, along with Steam, GOG, GamersGate and every other digital distributor.

Good Lord, the stupidity on display here is appalling.

Origin is a non-functional piece of cat-piss which EA forces on people who don't want it. Origin requires you to satisfy the EA machine to play your single player game. By supporting and utilising Origin, you are supporting their anti-consumer behaviour. The only way this piece of shit will go away is if it's not supported.

Fuck Origin and fuck anyone who supports it. If you're a developer who received crowd-sourced funding from gamers and you support Origin, then you're betraying the demographic which funded your fucking game in the first place - and are therefore a piece of shit.

This isn't rocket surgery dude. It just requires you to - oh, I don't know - THINK.

Wraith wrote on May 19, 2012, 07:19:Absolutely no fucking way. Any crowd-funded projects which purport to use Origin don't deserve funding in the first place. People don't fund projects so they can slap shitty, non-functional DRM on the fucking things.

I think there should be a set of standards in place which Kickstarter projects should sign up to. One of which is a declaration that Origin and Microshit's crappy GFWL will not be used.

Steam is barely acceptable, but there should probably be a timeout period after which the game should be offered without DRM.

The crowd-funding bubble is unlikely to last, but ensuring there's at least some greater indie power in the marketplace will require some pretty hard core ethics and standards. Without such things, you undermine confidence. And confidence my friends, is the key driver by which Kickstarter projects gain funding.

Good lord, the knee jerk reactions are painful. Please do some research or at least read the rest of the thread before posting. Wasteland 2 is not going to require Origin. It will simply be sold on Origin, along with Steam, GOG, GamersGate and every other digital distributor.

Absolutely no fucking way. Any crowd-funded projects which purport to use Origin don't deserve funding in the first place. People don't fund projects so they can slap shitty, non-functional DRM on the fucking things.

I think there should be a set of standards in place which Kickstarter projects should sign up to. One of which is a declaration that Origin and Microshit's crappy GFWL will not be used.

Steam is barely acceptable, but there should probably be a timeout period after which the game should be offered without DRM.

The crowd-funding bubble is unlikely to last, but ensuring there's at least some greater indie power in the marketplace will require some pretty hard core ethics and standards. Without such things, you undermine confidence. And confidence my friends, is the key driver by which Kickstarter projects gain funding.

EA appears to be stumbling around, frantically trying to copy everything that Valve does with Steam. Most of the recent KS campaigns have already announced they will be using Steam and it was one of the main reasons I contributed to a couple of them, whereas using Origin really isn't a selling point for many people.

If EA hopes to compete with Valve then it needs to innovate, not follow. Unfortunately for them Valve is constantly improving Steam, like the ability to trigger downloads remotely.

Well, at least EA is starting to clue in a little. If they want to lure people into using Origin, they have to start giving something extra. Simply trying to force people to use it by tying their own games to it isn't going to be enough.

So in the "giving kudos where they are due" department, good on EA. They might be corporate dicks most of the time, but every now and then they do something half-decent.

Just to confirm what most are saying, this is not an exclusive deal. One of our core tenants has been to make our fans happy. That is why we spend so much time learning about what you want and don't want in Wasteland 2. This also spreads to distribution of the game. Some people like Steam, others Desura, Origin or GOG. If we only listened to the people who didn't like a specific distribution platform, we would have nowhere to deliver the game. For that reason, we want to include ALL distribution methods we can so that YOU can choose which one you support and download it from there. We just want people to have easy access to play the game we're going to put the next 18 months of our life into.